Art of finishing the edges of perforations



Apr. 3, 1923, 4 1,450,244

J. A. BROGAN ART OF FINISHING THE EDGES OF PERFORATIONS Filed Nov. 26,1919

- I? Flgzl G Patented Apr. 3, 1923,

FIGE

JAMES A. BROGAN, E LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, AssreNo 'ro UNITED; sHo MACHINERY CORPORATION, or PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

Application filed November To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs A. BROGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lawrence, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in the Art of Finishing the Edges of Perforations, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification,

1 like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to a method of making and finishing the edges of perforations and to the product of the method, and

1 I is herein illustrated as embodied in a method ofproducing lacing holes in the uppers of boots and shoes and in the finished shoe parts.

In the manufacture ofl'aced boots and 2 shoes it is customary to form rows of lacing holes in the front portions'of the quarters to receive the laces. Commonlythe quarters have attached to them one or more backing pieces such as a lining and a stay through all of which the lacing holes pass; In order to finish the lacingholes so that their edges will have a satisfactory appearance as well as sufiicient strength to withstand the strain ofthe laces; it is customary to make use of eyelets which may extend entirely through the .quarter and thebacking including the lining and stay pieces, or may extend only part way-through from either the concealed or the exposed side of the article.

The present invention contemplates doing away witheyelets entirely, although, when the invention is used in the manufacture of boots and shoes, so-ca-lled blind eyelets which do not extend through the quarter, may be used as of old in connection with the present invention if desired.

In carrying out the present invention as applied to boots and shoes, a shrinking agent such as heat is applied around the lacing hole in the leather quarter on that side of the quarter which is concealed in the finished shoe; to harden the edge of thelacing hole and to improve the appearance of the hole as viewed from the exposed-or display side. Conveniently the hole or perforation in a. quarter is first centeredwith respect to-a; heated; annular member the: diameter of which is slightly, greater than that of the ART OF FINISHING THE EDGES OF PERFORATIONS.

26, 1919. Serial No. 340,706.

perforation, and then the heated member is brought into contact with the flesh: side of the leather around the perforation to shrink the leather on the flesh side and thereb cause the grain side to bend'ior' curl towarc the flesh side. This treatment hardens the edge of the perforation so as to render it more effective in withstandingthe the accompanying dra w- Fig. 2 is an elevation of part. of a heat/u applying mechanism, the work-';being..showin in section before having been .ope'r'atedzupon by thatmechanism;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, principallyin elevation, showing the manner in which the" heat is applied and its effectuponit'he work; Fig. 4 is asection of the completed work, and r 7 Fig. 5 is a perspectivelofa ap'ortion'of a quarter after the perforations have been:

made and their edges finished:

In the drawings the workisshownas a quarter 7 of a shoe having a backing which comprises a lining 9 anda stay 11; InTthe manufacture of a shoe havingthese :parts it is customary to skivei and fold the: front and top edges of twoi q'uarters, thento sew the back edges of the quarters together, then to fasten the lining and stay to the quarters by one or more rows of stitches locatednear the front edges ofthe quarters, then to punch the lacing holes and then to insert eyelets in the holes. The procedu-re outlined abOveis often varied indifferentw-ays,

for example by using cement: to attach-the lining to thequarter before-stitching onthe stay, and it should therefore fre -understood thatthe particular parts referred :toiand-Tthe particular means for fasteningiguthemz toof illustration.

In carrying out the method on a part-'o fm shoe such as. that shown inthe, dravfiingmthe quarter, lining and stay; arefastened to gether have been shown merely-for purposes gether: byga row;- of stitches: 131'. whieh iis' spaced from the front folded edge of the quarter as shown in Figures 1 and 5. If desired, a certain amount of cement may be used instead of or in connection with the row of stitches 13 but in any event the quarter and it backing, whatever that may be, are held in the proper superposed relation that they will occupy in the finished shoe so that the lacing holes may be properly made.

The parts thus fastened together and held in their proper superposed relation are next perforated for example as indicated in Fig. 1 wherein the bed of a perforating machine is indicated at 15 and the punch at 17, the perforations extending through the quarter, lining and stay. The work is then turned over, a portion of the lining and stay bent back as shown in Fig. 2 and heat applied to the concealed side of the quarter about the holes therein. Conveniently, a tool somewhat similar to a harness punch may be used, one jaw carrying a partly hollow heating member 19 maintained at a proper temperature by an electric heat unit 20 and the other carrying a support 21 provided with a centering projection 23. The mem ber 19 may have an annular operative lower end of slightly greater diameter than that of the hole in the leather quarter so that when this member is brought down upon the concealed side of the quarter, which is usually the flesh side, the leather around the hole on that side is shrunk as indicated roughly in Fig. 3 so as to draw inwardly the margin of the unheated side. The ef fect of this treatment is to harden the edge of the hole, to impart to it more or less of a funnel shape and to remove any fuzz or fibers in case the punching operation was not a clean one.

After the holes in the quarter have bee finished by the shrinking operation. which has just been described, those portions of the lining and stay, which have been bent back to expose the concealed side of the quarter, are laid down again in their original positions and their front edges fastened to the front edge of the quarter for example by a row of stitches 25. this last operation being conveniently performed by a sewing machine having an undertrimming attachment to trim the edges of the lining and stay so that the completed work in cross section appears as shown in Fig. 4.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in the art of finishing a perforation in a piece of material which comprises applying simultaneously at all points around the perforation on one side of the material a shrinking agent to cause the edge of the perforation to curl from the opposite side toward the side to which the shrinking agent is applied.

3. That improvement in the art of finishing the edge of a perforation in a piece of material which comprises centering the perforation with respect to an annular heated member having a diameter greater than that of the perforation and then applying the member to one side of the material around the perforation.

4. That improvement in the art of preparing a lacing hole in a piece of work composed of a piece of leather and" a piece of backing which comprises fastening the leather and backing together in such manner as to leave one margin of each free and at the same time hold the margins in proper superposed relation, making a lacing hole which extends through the free margins of both pieces, separating the margins, shrinking the leather about the hole in the leather on that side of the leather which is next to the backing piece, bringing the margins back into their first relation with the holes in the backing and in the leather in alinement, and fastening the margins together against further separation.

5. That improvement in the art of making boots and shoes which consists in perforating the quarter and backing parts while said quarter and parts are held in their proper superposed relation, and then applying a shrinking agent to the concealed side of the quarter around the perforations therein to cause the edges of the perforations to curl from the exposed side of the quarter toward the concealed side.

6. That improvement in the art of making boots and. shoes which consists in perforating the quarter and backing parts while said quarter and parts are held in their proper superposed relation, and then applying heat to the concealed side of the quarter around the perforations therein to cause the edges of the perforations to curl from the exposed side of the quarter toward the concealed side. v

7. That improvement in the art of making boots and shoes which comprises fastening the quarters and lining together, punching them to form lacing holes, and then applying a shrinking agent to the concealed side of the quarters around the holes therein.

8. That improvement in the art of making boots and shoes which comprises fastening the quarters and lining together, punching them to form lacing holes, and then applying a heated member to the concealed side of the quarters around the holes therein.

9. That improvement in the art of making boots and shoes which comprises fastening the quarter and lining together by a row of stitches which is spaced from the front edge of the quarter, making a row of perforations in the quarter and lining at a locality between the row of stitches and the front edge of the quarter, shrinking the material of the quarter in localities about the perforations on that side of the quarter which is next to the lining, and then fastening the edges of the quarter and lining together by a second row of stitches.

10. An article of manufacture comprising a display piece and a backing fastened together, there being a perforation extending through both pieces, the material of the display piece about the perforation being shrunken on that side of the display piece which is next to the backing. I

11. An article of manufacture comprising a piece of leather and backing material therefor, there being a row of holes extending through the leather and backing, the leather around the holes therein being harder than the remaining portions of the leather.

12. That improvement in the art of finishing the edge of a perforation in a piece of material which consists in shrinkin the material throughout a selected locality adjacent to the perforation to such an extent as to draw toward the shrunken locality the material in other localities about the perforation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JAMES A. BROGAN. 

